(CNN) -- A girl's feet were cut off Thursday when a free-fall thrill ride malfunctioned at the Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom Amusement Park in Louisville, Kentucky, police said.

A cord wrapped around the 16-year-old's feet and severed them at her ankles while she was on the " Tower of Power," a police dispatcher said. The girl was taken to a local hospital.

"That could have been all of us -- riding that ride," Whitney Sandfer, who witnessed the accident, told CNN affiliate WDRB/WMYO.

The incident took place shortly before 5 p.m. ET, according to Six Flags spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg. The park remained open, but the ride in question was shut down and will remain so until the full investigation is complete, Goldberg said.

During the ride, passengers are lifted to 177 feet, suspended momentarily and then dropped, according to the park's Web site.

I assumed they would try to reattach her feet.
Still tragic though. Can you imagine the pain at first.

If it had to happen anywhere in the country, it couldn't have happened in a better place than Louisville. Kleinert & Kuntz (these guys - http://www.handtransplant.com/ ), as well as other of the best hand and foot surgeons in the world are located here.

I'm sure KY Kingdom will foot the bill and it will cost them an arm and a leg!!!

If it had to happen anywhere in the country, it couldn't have happened in a better place than Louisville. Kleinert & Kuntz (these guys - http://www.handtransplant.com/ ), as well as other of the best hand and foot surgeons in the world are located here.

I'm sure KY Kingdom will foot the bill and it will cost them an arm and a leg!!!

"I seen the car go up. Then, like, the cable broke ... and I heard a lot of people screaming," Chris Stinnett, who was at a ride next to the Tower of Power, told CNN affiliate WDRB/WMYO-TV in Louisville.

"The cable went under the car -- and I seen it pull up and hit a lot of people -- and I seen them bring their legs up," he said. (Watch witnesses describe the accident Video)

This guy's a police dispatcher?

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